FAA To Distribute Aircraft Security Upgrade Funds

7 May 2002

WASHINGTON - As part of President
Bush’s efforts to increase aircraft
security, the U.S. Department of
Transportation’s Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) today announced
plans to distribute $100 million that
Congress appropriated for security
enhancements to aircraft flight decks
and cabins.

Approximately $3 million will soon be
distributed to 11 air carriers under a
pilot program to install video and
other technology for use in the cabin
and to implement emergency alerting
systems that may be installed in the
aircraft or carried by cabin crew
members.

The remaining funds—approximately
$97 million—will be given to air
carriers to fortify their flight deck
doors once the new designs meet FAA
approval. The funding may be applied to
locks and other barriers already
installed, as well as to the permanent
design changes that must be in place by
April 2003. Each carrier will receive
approximately $13,000 per aircraft,
with the total not to exceed the actual
costs.

“Preventing unauthorized access to the
cockpit is one of our highest
priorities, but it’s also essential
that the flight crew and cabin crew
have technology to help them work as a
team in a threat situation,” said FAA
Administrator Jane F. Garvey

The FAA established the pilot program
to find the most effective technologies
that could be adopted by the greatest
number of air carriers in a short time.
Any FAA-certificated Part 121 air
carrier was eligible to apply for the
program by Oct. 16, 2001.

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The President announced on Sept. 28,
2001 that he was requesting funding
from Congress to help the U.S. airline
and cargo industry finance cockpit door
modifications and alerting systems.
Congress subsequently appropriated $100
million.

Beginning on Oct. 9, 2001, the FAA
issued a series of Special Federal
Aviation Regulations (SFARs) that
authorized short-term door
reinforcement by providing airlines and
cargo operators with temporary relief
from certain FAA standards. The major
U.S. airlines voluntarily installed
short-term fixes to doors on 4,000
aircraft in 32 days. The SFARs stated
that a long-term fix that meets FAA
requirements must be made within 18
months.

On Jan.15, 2002, the FAA published the
requirements for the long-term fix: new
standards to protect cockpits from
intrusion and small arms fire or
fragmentation devices, such as
grenades. The Aviation and
Transportation Security Act authorized
the FAA to issue that rule, which
requires operators of more than 6,000
airplanes to install reinforced doors
by April 9, 2003.

The airlines receiving grants under the
pilot program and the amounts are: